MARNE - When there's $20,000 on the line, a driver is going to take a chance or two, and gambles played out across the track in the waning laps of Monday night's Money in the Bank 150 at the Berlin Raceway.

That included Bubba Pollard, a 30-year old driver from Georgia, who took a chance and won big, capturing the Super Late Model special in the 30-car field that included NASCAR Monster Energy Cup 2015 champion Kyle Busch and Cup rookie Erik Jones of Byron.

Leader Busch, along with the rest of the top four in Joe Bush of Hastings, Brian Campbell of Wyoming and Chris Koslek of Grand Rapids all gambled with 18 laps to go when they darted into the pits under caution for fresh right-side tires. Meanwhile, Carson Hocevar, a 14-year old from Portage, rolled the dice and stayed out, even though he hadn't pitted all race.

And then there was Pollard, who pitted about halfway through the race and was sitting third on the restart. Pollard gambled with a three-wide move moments after the race went green, diving inside Hocevar and Kyle Jones coming into turn four. Pollard made contact with Hocevar, who spun and collected a number of cars, including Busch and Koslek. Busch continued and finished seventh, Koslek fourth and Bush sixth. Hocevar's race was over..

Pollard eventually pulled away from a pair of second generation drivers in Steven Wallace and Harrison Burton, the sons of NASCAR's Rusty Wallace and Jeff Burton, to earn his share of the $100,000 purse.

"When they came off the corner, it was 18 to go," Pollard said. "You have (Busch and Campbell), who have fast race cars on fresh tires coming. It's $20,000-to-win, you have to go. (Hocevar and Kyle Jones) come off the corner side-by-side, and we went into the corner three-wide. I lifted, checked up, hit the brakes. I knew they were coming down, and I did all I could to stay off of them.

"I hate it for those guys. I work hard on my race car, just like they do, so I hate to see them torn up. It's part of racing. But it was $20,000 to win with some of the best in the country coming behind you. You have to go. (Hocevar) was on old tires. I knew he was a sitting duck. You can't waste any time when you have cars behind you with tires."

Hocecar didn't second guess his move to stay out, however, he added that he should have taken the high groove instead of the bottom on the lap 132 restart, which was the second attempt to go green.

"In hindsight, I probably should have taken the outside," Hocevar said. "We got a good restart the first attempt, but the second one, (Pollard) expected where I was going to go. He came up alongside of me, and he made an aggressive move with 18 to go for $20,000 to win. You kind of expect that. I probably would have made the same decision. Unfortunately, he got into my left rear and spun me around.

"I definitely learned a lot tonight, especially when it comes to saving tires. I also learned never to quit. The motor shut off 10 laps into it for some unknown reason. It fired back up and was able to work our way to the front and got to the lead. We never held our heads down even when we restarted last. The guys at KBR Development kept me cool in the car."

Campbell, who finished 11th, said he thought he was in good shape after pitting for tires, even though he restarted in 14th. Keep in mind that caution laps didn't count, and he anticipated another caution or two the rest of the way, and with his fresh tires, he expected to go right to the front.

"I never believed that the guys who pitted early would have been able to win it," Campbell said. "I thought we had the best strategy. Kyle obviously thought he had the best strategy, which was the same as ours. But we didn't. We got buried back there, and it turned into a mess, as you can see with the car.

"As far as I'm concerned, Kyle and I had the best cars on the race track, and we both ended up wrecked. Good for Bubba. Senneker Performance is well invested in Bubba Pollard Racing, so good for him and good for Senneker Performance."

While Pollard might have entered the race under the radar, he has proven in the past that he can find his way around Berlin. He won Pro JEGS All-Star race at Berlin last year and in 2015, too. Plus, he races a Senneker Performance car, which is built in West Michigan by Terry Senneker Jr. and his team. Senneker is a former track champion.

"(Senneker Performance) are awesome people to work with," Pollard said. "We have been winning some races down South, and I can't thank them enough for all their help."

Busch and Jones headed to Marne after competing in Sunday's Cup race at Michigan International Speedway. Mechanical failure sent Jones to the pits on lap 48 after his car started smoking, and he did not return.

Berlin's Outlaw Late Models ran the Bank Robber 75-lapper Monday, and Steve Needles of Portage beat out Brandon Hermiller and Tim DeVos. Needles won the 2013 Berlin track championship and has run sparingly in Marne since. It was his first win since that championship season.

"The starting position was key," Needles said. "Clean air is everything, especially here. You can get out front and save tires and save some for the end. That was the key. Our car was good, but there were some other cars that were probably just as good that we would have had a hard time getting around for sure."